Mini Apple Pie Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Cups
Bite-sized fall treats! These little snacks are actually cinnamon sugar cookie cups filled with spiced apple pie filling, and topped however you'd like.
Servings 22 cookie cups
Calories 228kcal
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Cups
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Unsalted butter two sticks, cold and cubed
- 2 Eggs
- 3 ¾ Cups All-purpose flour
- ½ Cup Cornstarch
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Water or Apple cider
Apple Pie Filling
- 6 small Apples diced into ¼-inch pieces, see note
- 3 Tbsp Butter
- 3 Tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ¾ tsp Apple Pie Spice or pumpkin pie spice, or any combination of cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
Instructions
Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Cups
- Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the center.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon until combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cinnamon sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on low. Add in the eggs, and mix until thoroughly combined.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and add in the water (or cider). Mix on medium-low until incorporated. The dough will be fairly dry and stiff, but still have a buttery texture on the surface.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper (you can do this in batches, if needed). Roll out the dough to be between ⅛ and ¼-inch thick.
- Then use 4-inch round cookie cutter to shape the cookies. Use a paring knife to cut four acute triangular notches to create a rounded plus-shape. Form each cookie into a cup shape by bending up the edges and pressing the notch sides together at the seam. Place each into a standard cupcake pan. Reroll excess dough, and repeat until you have cut out all the cookies.
- Bake 8-10 minutes (I find 9 exactly works perfectly for me) until the cookies appear dry. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Apple Pie Filling
- In a medium-large saucepan, add the diced apples, butter, brown sugar and spices and stir to combine over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar begins to dissolve.
- Cover the pot and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes, until the apples are soft and the liquid is syrupy. If the mixture is too thin, allow it to cook uncovered for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and set aside to cool about 5 minutes.
Assemble Cookie Cup Pies
- Add about 1 ½ Tbsp of the apple pie filling to each cooled cookie cup. Then top as desired. Serve warm or let cool.
Notes
- Make ahead tips:
- Baked cookies cups can be stored at room temperature for 4-5 days in an airtight container. Once fully cooled, they can be gently stacked to save space, if needed. These can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let thaw before serving.
- Cooked apple pie filling can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Store the filled cookie cup pies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Apples:
- Firm and sweet apples work best here, like Gala, Braeburn, or Honeycrisp. Avoid overly tart or very soft apples in this recipe.
- After dicing, you should have about six cups of apple pieces, or slightly less.
- Topping ideas:
- Cut any extra cookie dough into thin strips, and use to create a lattice pattern on top of the mini pies. Bake each latticed cookie cup for an additional 5-7 minutes until the top is cooked through.
- Sprinkle with baked streusel, cinnamon candies, sparkling or pearl sugar, cinnamon, fall-themed sprinkles, or anything else you can think of.
- Drizzle with homemade caramel or butterscotch sauce.
- Serve with a mini scoop of ice cream or homemade whipped cream (use a melon baller for a smaller size).